How did you find your musical passion, the viola?
German Tcakulov: I grew up in a very musical home, classical music was omnipresent. My mother is a music lover and played the piano herself. She didn't study an artistic subject because she didn't like the technical exams and ear training - she became a doctor.
In any case, in my home town of Vladikavkaz, a small, mountainous, culturally characterised town, similar to Salzburg, we often went to the Philharmonie. When I was six or seven, I heard a symphony orchestra there, I think it was Beethoven's 5th Symphony, and I could feel the vibrations in my chair during the concert. It was so incredible for me, the power of the sound captivated me. The strings were sitting at the front and I was fascinated by their gestures and movements. This experience made me really want to play a string instrument. I started with the violin, but my first teacher examined my hands and realised that I should play the viola. That's how it was: I tried violin, viola and piano. The piano is my ideal in my musical thoughts. When I rehearse a new piece, I play it on the piano, sing it, speak it and conduct it. I first want to hear this neutral, pure musical sound, without bows, without vibrato - pure music. Only then does the interpretation emerge.
How would you describe the viola if you had to introduce it like a friend?
For me, the viola has something very melancholy, something human. It speaks from the soul, whereby the tempo and the vibration of the viola are very unique. In general, I would describe the viola as an instrument that creates atmosphere and can take on numerous roles, including a solo role. This versatility fascinates me. As a person, the viola would therefore be quite complicated, not just seeking harmony, although it often moves ‘in the middle’. It can also be powerful and loud, dark or melancholic. Incidentally, I think the viola is closer to the cello than the violin.
What social role does (classical) music play in your view?
We see crises everywhere in the world, not only in classical music, but also in journalism and politics - these are difficult times. We are usually put off by change, doomsday moods arise here and there. Nevertheless, most people around the world are living much better than they were 30 years ago. So I personally try to be optimistic. What makes me a little uneasy, however, is that the role of art is no longer really recognised by politicians. Our concert audiences are over-aged and mostly conservative. Concert series take place in golden halls, people come who can afford expensive tickets. I fear that many classical musicians expect that the audience will just keep coming. But my conviction is that we musicians have to go to the audience. As a student, I initiated a concert series in Berlin together with medical students. The venues were not concert halls, but factories, cellar bars and breweries. For many people, and not just young people, traditional concert halls are a barrier. The atmosphere puts them off. You can play concerts in many different venues for a reasonable price. Such concerts were very special for me as a performer. The visitors were mostly young people who had never attended classical concerts before. I know of some who have become classical music fans today. We were able to pick them up well. I believe that we as musicians need to be more open and think about how we can reach people with music - and not the other way round.
I also fear that we have lost a few generations. In grammar schools, there used to be many more lessons per week for art and music. Today, a lot is being cut in the ‘creative subjects’. But once you've experienced how art can make our lives more beautiful and creative, you don't want to miss it. Your view and perception change. You judge things differently with this background. Perhaps this necessity will also be recognised at a political level one day.
Are there cultural differences for musicians or in musical training in Russia and Germany?
There are big differences, if only in the language. Russian is very melodic, you form sentences freely. In German, articulation is more structured. You can also hear that in the music, in the articulation and phrasing, in the clarity of tone and in the subtle details. This is very much appreciated in Russia. In Russia, on the other hand, emotion is more important, the big impression. This is also reflected in the mentality. But the core task remains the same everywhere: art has to move something, it has to say something, leave an impression. I am very grateful that I was able to experience both. St. Petersburg has culture in every centimetre. People grow up with this culture. When I was at school, we went to the museum twice a week. When children experience an appreciation for this education, art takes on a different significance. This also has an impact on their quality of life.
What is the best thing about teaching? What can your students look forward to?
I started teaching at a very early age. The great thing about it is that you also learn a lot yourself. The combination of teaching and playing is particularly important. Just teaching can be dangerous because you forget to go on stage. The reality of the concert hall, feedback and reflection are lost, but that is precisely what is so important for playing, alongside technique and theory. Versatility in music is also very, very important to me. Chamber music or solo, baroque, classical, contemporary music, techno, jazz improvisation, electronic music, other arts: All of this in combination with the viola is great for me.
I see my task as a professor as broadening the students' horizons. They shouldn't just see themselves as craftspeople. It can't be the only goal to work towards a permanent position in an orchestra. The orchestra offers security, of course, but there is so much more! We musicians need to get back to our roots. In Bach's time, musicians played several instruments - they were musicians, not instrumentalists. They expressed themselves through music. As classical musicians, we must not pigeonhole ourselves.
How do you challenge students to get the best out of themselves? To try out new things or change things? How do you learn to express things through music?
I've never had students who weren't motivated. I realise that I am privileged. Both in Tabea Zimmerman's class, where I was an assistant, and in my class at the University of Munich, the standard was high. I encourage students to listen to concerts by other artists, e.g. singers, pianists, etc., and then I like to talk about them. I want to convey that we can allow ourselves to be artists. Of course, the craft is important. Nobody wants to hear unclean playing. That's the basis. But mistakes can also happen, that's human. It's important to have the courage to go beyond the familiar as an artist ...
In Europe, the tradition is still being carried on, and that's great. I hope that this will continue. As artists, we have to earn our living, of course. Earning a living becomes harder and harder over time. There are few secure jobs and musicians are very poorly paid compared to other professions. If you want to get a top job, you undoubtedly have to play technically flawlessly. You have to find a balance between artistic expression and technical ability.
What other passions do you have besides the viola?
I'm always discovering new things. There is a lot in art that interests me. Basically, I love interacting with people. Whether it's cooking together, eating, dancing or simply going for a walk: These are also moments that I enjoy.
What do you want to convey, what is important to you?
I am very happy and grateful to have been given this position. It's a wonderful job for me. I'm looking forward to the many things I can still learn in Salzburg.
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Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, German Tcakulov began his musical education in his home town with violin, viola and piano. At the age of 15, he continued his viola studies with Prof. Vladimir Stopichev at the special music school of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, before transferring to the St. Petersburg Conservatory four years later. At the age of 21, he moved to Germany, where he completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in viola at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin with Tabea Zimmermann.
In 2013, he received a scholarship from the Lucia Loeser Foundation and won numerous prizes at international competitions, including Charles Hennen in Holland, Jyväskylä in Finland, Mravinsky in Russia and the ‘start-up! music’ prize from the Hanns Eisler University of Music. From 2018 to 2022 he was a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BR). As an orchestral musician, he has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Ivan Fischer, Daniel Harding, John Eliot Gardiner, Daniele Gatti and Valery Gergiev.
His chamber music partners include Stephan Forck, Ulf Wallin, Tabea Zimmermann, Claudio Bohórquez, Stephan Pickard, Boris Garlitsky, Wen-Sinn Young, Ingolf Turban, Thomas Hoppe and Frank van de Laar. Invitations to festivals have taken him to the AIMS Festival in Spain, Murten Classics, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Otzberg Summer Concerts, among others. From 2017 to 2022, he worked as a lecturer at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin and was assistant to Tabea Zimmermann. From 2021 to 2023, he taught his own viola class at the Munich University of Music and Theatre. In summer 2022, he was appointed Professor of Viola at the University of Music in Karlsruhe. He also imparts his knowledge and expertise at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole/Florence and gives masterclasses worldwide. He will take up his professorship at the Mozarteum University in autumn 2024.
He plays two modern French violas by Patrick Robin and Roland Belleguic.
